Apparatus for producting yarn



Jan. 24, 1939. Q M YQUNGMAN l v 2,145,144

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING YARN Filed Aug. 9, 1937 l I J il Patented Jan.l24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,145,144 I APPARATUS Fon PRonUelNGYARN Gardner M. Youngman, Washington, D. C. Application August 9,1937,seriaiNo. 158,235 1 clam..` (o1. lea- 150) My invention relates to thetextile industry, and has particular reference to the production ofsliver or top from cut filaments of rayon or other synthetic textile,known in the art as 5 staple ber or by any other name, to be blended inthe form of sliver with wool and then spun into yarn on the worstedsystem, or to be drawn Iand spun by any of the various spinning systemsin commercial use with or without the adl mixture of any other textileber. Y

In the process of manufacturing yarn, methods vary according to the typeof material employed and the kind of ,product desired. In theconventional method of manufacturing all-wool l Worsted yarn the fibersare. opened (pickered), carded, gilled, balled, `and combed, and thecombed sliver is then again run through a vseries of secondary gillboxesfdrawn, and iinallyl spun into yarn. 4

The high cost of al1-wool fabrics made from Worsted yarn, compared withthat of other materials used in the manufacture of clothing and othergoods, has prompted the admixture of cheaper bers with wool for thepurpose of reducing the cost of the yarn and fabric. Intermixing fibershas been practiced for a long time,

v. fbut it is only within recent years that cut filaments of rayon orother synthetic textile have been blended with wool in the production ofyarn having the general characteristics of allwool worsted yarn.

In the conventional process of manufacturing worsted yarn from a mixtureof wool and cut laments of rayon orother synthetic textile itiscustomary to furnishthe cut synthetic bers to the worsted mills orcommission combers in lengths of from about two to seven inches,produced by cutting th'e continuous lengths of synthetic filaments intostaple lengths and, after further 40 processing, compressing the loosefluffy massV of intertangled fibers into containers or bales forshipment. It is then necessary to open, card, gill, and comb th cutfibers for the purpose of insuring an overlapping of substantiallyparallel bers which results in the production of what is known in theart as combed sliver or top. This sliver or top of cut synthetic fibersis then blended with the wool sliver or top at the secondary gill boxfor the production of blended yarn. The operationsof opening, carding,gill` tion to provide an improved process and,A apparatus in which thecontinuous synthetic fibers vinstead of being cut and subsequentlycollected as a loose, disordered mass of material, are cut in such amanner as to preserve their par llel- 5 ism throughout and are, in cutform, 'arra ged in overlapping orderto form a sliver having the samegeneral characteristics as the product of the combing machine, withoutthe operationsx of opening, carding, gilling, and combing. 10

' the synthetic and wool fibers but also cooperate in producing a bettergrade of fabric due to the regularity of the overlapping and parallelarrangement of the cut filaments in the synthetic sliver or top. 25

In the accompanying drawing illustrating the preferred method ofcarrying out my invention;

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view, in elevation, showing the manner inwhich the sliver or top is formed. 30'

Fig. 2 is a view showing a part of the length of a sliver or top formedin accordance with my invention. i

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating a modification oi' the apparatus, and 3SyFig. 4 is a further modification.v In .carrying out my improved processa plurality of fibers I0, composed of continuous synthetic filaments,are cut into short lengths Il, and these staple fibers are then broughttogether 40 in such a manneras to' overlap one another in parallelrelation',` thus providing a slender roll or sliver I2 to be wound upona bobbin or coiled in a revolving can for convenience in shipmentand'for subsequent handling in theA operation of 45 blending thesynthetic'staple fibers I with Wool or other fibers for the productionof yarn by the usual method of producing worstlw" yarn from tops.A f5

In Fig, 1 of the drawing I have shown one 50 form Aof apparatus for theaccomplishment of my improved process, in which a vertical bank `ofspaced apart endless belts or conveyors I3 is employed, whereby aplurality of the continuous filaments cut into staple length bers, by

veyors and dropping down from the ends of said belts are joined togetherto form the sliver. The

sliver so formed is deposited on a carrying belt I5 to be delivered to arevolving tank or other device for collecting the continuous syntheticsliver or top. As the cut synthetic bers pass from the ends of theseveral belts they are maintained in parallel relation to each otherwhenthey are joined together in forming the sliver, and it will be obviousby reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that the extent to which the cut bersoverlap will depend on the distance between the belts; that is to say,if the belts are three-fifths of an inch apart there will be acorresponding overlapping of the out bers.

To insure a positive operation in the collection of. the syntheticstaple bers, in forming the sliver or top, a vertical belt I1 (Fig. 3)may be added to cooperate with the belts or conveyors, said auxiliarybelt being positioned at the outer or delivery ends of the conveyors topress against the cut synthetic bers as they leave said conthere will bea regularity in the overlapping of the bers, suitable rollers (notshown), as ordinarily employed in apparatus of this kind, serving tofeed the continuous synthetic filaments to the knives from which theypass'to the belts.

On the otherl hand, the cutters maybe operated at such frequency inrelation to each other and to the rate at which the bers are fed thatstaple bers of dierent lengths may be provided, and likewise the speedof the several belts maybe diiferent, in each instance resulting in amodication in the overlapping of the cut bers but in every instancemaintaining the cut fibers in parallel and overlapping relation.Furthermore, to vary the overlapping of the cut bers the knives may bedisposed out of line with each other in cooperation with belts runningat the same rate of speed or synchronously, and as another example ofhow the overlapping of. the bers may be varied Fig. 4 shows a bank ofvertically disposed endless belts or conveyors I6 in which the dischargeends project successively one beyond the other. In this instance, thebelts preferably run at the same speed and the knives operate in unison,and by extending the successive belts the cut fibers from the uppermostbelt will be deposited on to the cut bers on the second belt, and so on,to be hunched together by their own weight in forming the sliverdelivered on the carrying belt I5.

As a further modication of apparatus to produce my improved form ofsliver, made up of knives I4, pass on -to the endless belts orconsynthetic bers, the same resulting product can be produced by havingknives .that will cut the synthetic bers at an angle or obliquelyinstead of transversely. In other words, it 4will be apparent thatvarious arrangementsof the horizontal belts may be adapted in carryingout my improved process, the main purpose of which is to furnish' to theworsted mills or commission combers an improved article of manufacturein the form of a sliver or comparatively loose roll of cut syntheticbers of staple length, arranged in parallel relation and in series withtheir ends in juxtaposition, the cutbers in one series overlapping thecut bers in the adjoining series,

vwhereby to facilitate the mixture of the syny tion that in eliminatingthe usual method of opening, carding, gilling, and combing the syntheticstaple bers, it not only reduces the cost in this respect but alsoeliminates waste.

In the production of yarn, made up of a mixture of synthetic fibers andwool to'ps, the use of a sliver produced in accordance with my inventionwill be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, for in theoperation of blending bers and spinning the yarn, the cut synthetic bersare introduced at the gill box inthe proper form to be effectively used.In other words, 'my improved process as carried out by the apparatusdescribed facilitates the blending of synthetic fibers with Awool bersin contradistinction to the usual practice of. furnishing the cutvsynthetic bers to the vworsted mills or commission combers in a compactmass of material to be opened, carded, gilled,l and combed beforecombining the same with the wool bers. In addition to facilitating theproduction of yarn, the ratio between the synthetic bers and wool berscan be better proportioned and.more evenly distributed throughout thelength of the yarn, and an improved texture of fabric will result when'made up from the yarn.

An apparatus for the production of a sliver of loosely gatheredsyntheticbers for use in the production of yarn, consisting -of avertical series of endless belts spaced apart one above another, onwhich the staple bers are deposited in orderly arrangementlongitudinally and from which they are deposited in forming the sliver,said belts ybeing spaced-apart to determine the overlapping of the bersfrom one belt in respect to another,

a conveyor belt receiving the collected bers from the series of endlessbelts, and a vertical belt at the outer ends of the series of endlessbelts for guiding the staple bers on to the conveyor belt.

GARDNER. M. YOUNGMAN.

